Lawyer for esports teams and organisations

An esports team starts as a group of friends with a shared goal and, if it works, becomes an operation with players, coaching staff, sponsors, a brand and money coming and going. Most conflicts are born in that transition: verbal deals, an unregistered name and nobody sure who decides and who pays.

Incorporation: who the team is in legal terms

A team can operate as a non-profit association or as a company, usually a limited liability company. The choice changes taxation, the owners’ liability and how sponsorship is raised. Either way, bylaws or articles of association, minutes and a tax ID put in writing who decides, how partners join and leave and how money is split. If the idea is to set up a league or federation, see specialised services.

Contracts with players and coaching staff

Depending on how the player works, the relationship may be an employment, sports or service contract, and giving the contract the wrong label does not change the reality of the relationship. The contract must therefore describe the routine, pay, prize money, image rights, transfer and termination. Minors need extra care, such as the involvement of their guardians. The esports law guide and the esports contracts page cover these points.

• Salary or allowance, prize money and payment deadlines
• Image rights and sponsors’ use of the player’s name
• Transfer clause, penalty and early exit
• Conduct rules, confidentiality and social media
• Equipment, travel and lodging: who pays

The team’s trademark and the game’s intellectual property

The name and logo are the team’s main asset. INPI registration lasts ten years, renewable, and stops others from using the same name in the same field; the entertainment and clothing classes are the ones teams use most. The game’s intellectual property also has to be respected: each publisher has its own policy on using the game’s name and artwork in brands, jerseys and products, and ignoring it can block sponsorship and merchandising. See the steps in trademark registration.

Sponsorship, tournaments and incentive laws

Sponsorship and naming-rights contracts state what the sponsor gets (logo on the jersey, mentions on streams, presence at events) and what the team receives in money or products, with terms and consequences of breach. To enter tournaments, the team must read the rulebook, which usually covers registration, conduct, prizes and penalties. When there is a sports or social project, sports tax-incentive laws can help raise funds, and the practice drafts those projects.

Since 2023, Bruno Cassol has provided legal counsel to esports organizations and teams of different sizes, to leagues and to tournament organizers. The work covers player and staff contracts, team and league regulations, trademark registration, sponsorship, corporate transactions such as mergers between organizations, setting up operations abroad, and tournament rules and contracts. He has also developed games and esports courses for the public sector.